JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – The East Stroudsburg University women's volleyball team rebounded after dropping the opening set on Friday night to record a 3-1 victory (20-25, 25-20, 25-17, 25-21) against Pitt-Johnstown in a PSAC matchup.
 
ESU (15-3, 5-1 PSAC Central) recorded 54 kills as a team in the match as senior Sarah Smith tallied a team-high 18 for the Warriors. Pitt-Johnstown (7-7, 0-5 PSAC Southwest) was paced by a match-high 19 kills from Noelle Carota.
 
Smith recorded another double-double for the Warriors, adding 16 digs to go along with her 18 kills. She also tallied four total blocks and one ace. Senior Sam Dunphy recorded 14 kills and 14 digs for the Warriors, while senior Jasmine Williams added seven kills for ESU. Freshman Rachel Cain notched a match-high 44 assists, while sophomore Emily Meredith tallied 23 digs for the Warriors.
 
ESU held a 5-3 lead in the opening set of the match before Pitt-Johnstown used a 4-0 rally to take a 7-5 lead following an ace from Gabi DeRenzo. The Warriors countered with a 4-0 run of their own to take the lead back as sophomore Jasmine Mooney delivered a pair of kills.
 
The Warriors knotted the score 20-20 in the set following an attack error by Pitt-Johnstown but would be unable to capitalize as the Mountain Cats ran the table with a 5-0 run to clinch the 25-20 victory off a kill by Carota.
 
In the second set, it would be an early 4-0 for ESU that helped give the Warriors a 7-3 advantage. Smith would be responsible for three of the four points that helped to swing the momentum.
 
Leading 16-13, the Warriors used a 6-0 rally to take a commanding 22-13 advantage over Pitt-Johnstown. Sophomore Caylinn Davis recorded a pair of kills for ESU during the run, while Smith served one ace before the Mountain Cats ended the rally.
 
Pitt-Johnstown rallied and would eventually trim the deficit to 22-19 following a kill from Carota before an attack error gave the serve back to ESU. The Warriors tallied three of the next four points to secure the 25-20 victory as Davis notched the kill off a set from Cain.
 
ESU raced out to a 5-1 lead in the third set and wouldn't look back. Sophomore Erin Lutz served up an ace for ESU before Dunphy added a kill to make it 10-4 in favor of the Warriors. ESU would later increase the lead to 17-10 off kills from redshirt junior Trea-sure Ketter and Dunphy.
 
The Warriors secured the set with an ace from freshman Jessica Irwin as the 25-17 victory gave ESU a 2-1 advantage in the match heading to the fourth set.
 
ESU battled back from several deficits in the fourth set as Pitt-Johnstown built an 8-4 lead before the Warriors rallied to eventually knot the score 11-11. The Warriors used the shift in momentum to take a 14-12 edge following an attack error by the Mountain Cats.
 
Smith delivered consecutive kills later in the set to give ESU a three-point cushion after Pitt-Johnstown trimmed the deficit to 21-20. Leading 23-21, ESU followed an attack error by the Mountain Cats with a block from Dunphy and Ketter to secure the 25-21 victory and the 3-1 triumph in the match.
 
The Warriors head to IUP on Saturday afternoon for a 1 p.m. matchup against the Crimson Hawks. ESU then opens a six-game homestand inside Koehler Fieldhouse on Oct. 15 against Kutztown at 7 p.m.